Dean O.

About Dean O.

Hi! If my mother-in-law, Heidi, and sister-in-law, Karine, knew I was submitting this, they’d kill me. Neither like attention or being made over. I’m convinced both are angels in human form, and I’ll tell you why. My father-in-law, Dean Oswalt, was diagnosed with prostate cancer back in the late 90s. After treatment, he went into remission for quite a long time, until the cancer came back again in his bones about 8 or 9 years ago. Since then, both Karine and Heidi have cared for him, taking him to the hospital for his tests, and treatments, and making sure he eats right and takes his medications as needed, and all the things that go along with caring for someone with cancer. Thankfully, with the aid of an experimental study, my sweet father-in-law has slowed the cancer. It’s not gone, the pain is not gone, he relies on a cane now, but the cancered is slowed, allowing us more time with him on this earth. Karine and Heidi have so dedicated themselves to caring for him along the way, they pushed asides their own needs and wants. They were so focused on my father-in-law (with no regrets or complaints), that my mother-in-law unknowingly forgoed having her yearly mammograms. Just a few weeks ago, she found a lump….and yes…it’s cancer. It’s an aggressive form and is having a mastectomy tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. We are praying and hoping for the best, that the cancer hasn’t spread, but no matter the outcome, she is in for a battle with chemo and radiation. Living three hours away, there is only so much we can do from here; my husband will be traveling as much as he can back and forth, but the main load will fall on Karine, as she lives 5 minutes away from them. Karine will be exhausted, stressed and overwhelmed, but she will not complain; it’s just not in her nature. She will smile, and try to make you smile by telling stories of hope and love and peace. I know it will kill my mother-in-law to not be able to take care of the love of her life; and likewise, it will kill my father-in-law to not be able to take care of sweetheart, Heidi, the way she has cared for him. To put that responsibility onto their children is the last thing they want, but they are family, and they stick together no matter what. They will fight until the end, which we pray is a long long long time from now. There is so much more than I can write here about how wonderful both Karine and Heidi are, but I’d love to share it with you in person, because my hand will fall off from typing. 🙂 Thanks so much for reading. And have a great day! **In the photo, Karine is the blonde in the black and red shirt, and Heidi and Dean are in the center. This was right before we found out Heidi has cancer…Christmas 2017**